


There’s a warmth that fills me up

by FallOutStucky



Series: Chanhun Advent Calender [7]
Category: EXO (Band), SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Babysitting, Baristas, Coffee Shops, Cute, Cute Kids, First Meetings, Fluff, Kid Taemin, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 16:22:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16895973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallOutStucky/pseuds/FallOutStucky
Summary: Day 7:While babysitting his nephews Sehun flees into a coffee shop. There he meets the cutest barista and falls in love with more than just the amazing coffee.





	There’s a warmth that fills me up

**Author's Note:**

> ...this one is purely self indulgent and no one will get the deeper meaning @carryonmywaywardstucky and I see in this. It´s still a nice story though so enjoy ;)

Sehun loves his older brother, he really does. His four-year old son and his baby nephew too.  
But all the love in the world doesn't make up for this.

It's the day before Christmas and his brother has only realized this morning that he didn't have all the Christmas presents he wanted. Apparently he was missing some stuff for next day's dinner, one of the presents for his husband, the perfect wine for their mother and about fifteen toys for Taemin and Taehyung. Which honestly was the dumbest part because he was pretty sure that he and Minho had bought them an entire truck full of presents already and Sehun himself has bought about the same amount.  
So Junmyeon had the glorious idea to go on a Christmas gift hunt. On the day before Christmas. When about half of the city had the same idea.

Originally Sehun had planned to use the day to relax before he had to spend the upcoming two days with his family. This plan though had been cancelled as soon as Junmyeon had called him at 8am this morning.

"You're free today?", he had asked without a greeting. There was a loud crying sound in the background which Sehun assumed to be Taehyung.

"Yes?" It came of as more of a question than an answer.

"Perfect. Because Minho has to go to work in a minute and I have some errands to run."

"So you want me to watch the kids? Got it." He could do that. His nephews were little angels when they were with him. His relaxed day would only be a bit louder and more fun but not much more stressful.

Sadly enough it turned out that Junmyeon wanted him to watch the kids while helping him shop for Christmas gifts. Which was a lot more stressful than what Sehun had expected.

It is around ten when the four of them are standing in front of the mall. Seven months old Taehyung strapped into his stroller, Taemin holding onto Sehun's hand with one of his while the other is tightly holding onto his favourite stuffed animal, a light blue penguin. The whole building looks like a festive bomb exploded all over it. Thousands of Christmas lights were hanging around and there was tinsel, giant fir wreaths and fake Christmas trees all over the place.

"Okay at first we need to find a shop that sells mum's wine", Junmyeon announces. His eyes are scanning the list he made before leaving. It contained everything he needed, neatly sorted in what to get where and in which order. There is even a time plan on the side, containing snack breaks for the kids and Sehun as well as diaper changes for Taehyung.  
Once again Sehun wonders how his brother manages to have his life this together. At barely thirty Junmyeon is married to his High School boyfriend, has two wonderful kids, a small house in the suburbs and a stable job with pretty decent pay at a marketing company.  
Sehun can't relate. As long as he could think he had looked up to his older brother but never managed to live up to his standards. Now, with twenty-three he is just so passing through his study to get a degree in book publishing and literature while working as a waiter in a small bar on campus. Most of his time his just spend worring about wether he´ll pass his next exam and not having any idea how to do it. He wants to be like his brother, wants to have his life together like him, and yet he was stuck in a flat he shared with two of his friends and didn't even manage to get anything close to a boyfriend.

Sehun tires to push the thoughts out of bis brain as they enter the mall. He still has time, is what his mother always says, you don't need to have your life together at twenty-three for everything to turn out fine in the end.

It takes them about thirty minutes to find the right wine and everything's fine for about two hours. Then Taemin starts to get fussy.

"He's probably bored", Sehun tells Junmyeon who comes running towards them as soon as he hears Taemin's whining. Sehun has picked him up and was carrying him after his small feet have started being tired of walking. The small boy has his face buried in Sehun's shoulder and suddenly stopped whining. He was probably nibbling at Sehun's shirt, a weird habit he has picked up recently. It always seemed to calm him down though so Sehun just lets him do it. He has had enough baby spit on him before to not care any more.

"I still have a lot more to get…", Junmyeon sighs. "Listen, there's a small cafe just across the building. They have a section for children with books and toys and such stuff. Could you maybe take them there and entertain them until I'm done?"

Sehun just nods. "Sure, hyung. No problem."

He puts Taemin down who has stopped crying completely and is now just holding on to Sehun's pant leg. Curious eyes watching as Junmyeon hands the giant bag Taehyung´s stuff over to Sehun. Then he presses a small kiss onto the baby's forehead before squatting down to be on one level with Taemin.

"You're gonna go play with uncle Sehun while I get some stuff yah? Is that okay?"

The small boy nods excitedly. Junmyeon chuckles. He's always really excited to spend time with Sehun. Somehow those two understand each other on a level he'll probably never get. He's only scared for when Taemin gets older and will probably actually start to overtake Sehun´s bad habits.

"Thanks! I'm gonna make you your favourite food tonight!", Junmyeon yells after them when Sehun and the kids leave the store towards the coffee shop. The younger just waves and grins at his brother.

They leave the mall through the same entrance they entered through and after some looking around Sehun finds the coffee shop. It's in one of the side streets leading away from the mall, right in-between a hair salon and a photo shop.

When they entered, they were engulfed by warmth, chattering customers and the comforting smell of coffee and freshly baked pastries.  
It isn't big rather comforting, there are three employees working, two boys and a girl. The costumers consist mainly of students working on laptops and couples on dates. There's one young mother leaving with her daughter. She smiles at Sehun as he goes to take over her table next to the play area.

Taemin seems fascinated by the whole place as he sits down on the small couch which belongs to the table. He waits patiently for Sehun to take Taehyung out of his stroller, examining the place curiously in the meantime. When he discovers the corner full of toys, his eyes light up.

"Uncle Sehun, can I go play over there?", he asks.

Sehun nods. "Sure, just let me take of your jacket first, okay?"

He sits Taehyung down and motions for Taemin to come over so that he can undo the zipper of his little anorak and take off his cap and scarf.

After storing their jackets away in the stroller he picks Taehyung up, who's happily babbling in his baby language and playing with the pendant of Sehun's necklace, and makes his way over to the counter. He orders a coffee for himself and strawberry milk for Taemin.

When the waiter comes over with their stuff Taemin's still playing in the corner with some Lego pieces which he for some reason uses as characters of a story he plays out instead of staking them together like you'd normally do. He comes over though when he sees the waiter bringing his strawberry milk over. It´s not the girl he ordered from but the tall blond guy who had been preparing cakes in the corner.  
Sehun is playing with Taehyung, entertaining him by tickling his tummy until he giggles. He stops when the guy arrives with their drinks.

"Thank you." The guy isn't the one Sehun ordered from, he is tall, with blond locks and really handsome. His smile is genuine which is rare.

"Thank you!", Taemin mimics his uncle receiving the glass and immediately beginning to sip on the bright red and white striped straw.

"You're welcome", the guy answers happily. His gaze shifts from Taemin to Sehun.

"Are they yours?", he asks, seemingly interested. Sehun snorts at that.

"Do I look old enough to have a four-year-old son?"

The guy shrugs. "I've seen sixteen-year-olds come in with their kid. Everything is possible."

"Okay, fair point. But no, they are my nephews."

"Well, still. They are incredibly cute and he's really well-mannered."

"Thanks. Yeah, my brother and his husband did a pretty good job on them so far."

"I can see that", he gives a last smile before excusing himself.

"Just call me if you need anything else."

Sehun nods, bouncing Taehyung up and down on his lap before he can start whining about the lack of attention.

He checks up on Taemin from time to time but the toddler is playing peacefully with his Lego blocks. So he decides to let him be and spend his time waiting for his brother with keeping Taehyung entertained, Which is a fairly easy task since the baby starts laughing hysterically at every small thing he does. He's already treading the times when the two boys get older, and they actually demand something from him aside from his love.  
He hopes he doesn't disappoint them when the time comes. Sehun holds Taehyung close against his chest, blowing raspberries onto his cheek and enjoys his little giggles. He really is the cutest baby ever. Though he has to share first place with Taemin on Sehun's list.  
His eyes meet the waiter's who has brought their drinks as he's picking up dirty plates from the table across from theirs. He gives Sehun one of his cute smiles and Sehun can't help but smile back.

He manages to satisfy Taehyung's needs for about half an hour before he begins to be uncomfortable. One sniff only tells Sehun that his diapers need to be changed. This brings only one problem with it, he can't take Taemin with him. He contemplates his options a bit before making a decision.

"Excuse me?", Sehun goes up to one of the guys working behind the counter, Taehyung on his hip. It´s the same one who he had talked to before. The one with the cute smile. He looked up at Sehun with a questioning look on his face. He nods at Taemin who's quietly playing with the playmobil castle. "Could you watch him for a few minutes. I quickly need to change his diapers."

The man nods. "Sure no problem, Sooyoung and Kyuhyun can handle this alone for a bit." He wipes his hands on a towel before rounding the counter. "Will he be okay though? With me watching him while you're gone?"

"Oh yeah, I explained it to him, and he seemed to be fine with you before."

The man nods. "Okay, cool." With that he makes his way towards Taemin who expects him with big eyes, while Sehun vanishes towards the bathrooms.

When he comes back ten minutes later Taemin has neglected the castle and is instead sitting on the guys lap, showing off his stuffed toy and blabbering excitedly. Somehow the sight warms his heart. Taemin didn't always warm up to strangers that quickly and that he is already introducing his most loved friend to the waiter says a lot.

Sehun quietly gtes closer, without the two of them noticing, to listen in on their conversation.

Taemin holds his penguin up for the guy to look closer. "…he's four. I am four too", he explains in his small high-pitched voice.

"Oh", Chanyeol replies amazed. "You are both the same age?"

"Yes! He's my best friend."

"It's good to have friends." Taemin nods eagerly in confirmation. "Does he have a name?"

"Kai!", he tells the man proudly. Before shyly adding: "My name is Taemin."

The guy extends one hand to shake the penguins fin. "It's nice to meet you, Kai."  
Then he shakes Taemin's tiny hand with one finger. "It's also nice to meet you Taemin."

"What's your name?", the boy asks excitedly.

"My name is Chanyeol."

"Cha…." Taemin stares at him with big eyes, trying and failing to pronounce his name.

"It's complicated I know. You can just call me Yeolie if that's easier. My best friend´s son does that too."

Taemin nods. Apparently satisfied with that before he continues to explain random facts about the stuffed animal to Chanyeol. Most of which he actually made up right on the spot.  
Sehun decides, that's been enough listening in on other's conversations for one day and sits down next to Chanyeol with a friendly "Hi." Taehyung in his lap.

"Uncle Sehun!", Taemin squeals upon seeing him. He hands the plushy over to Chanyeol and throws himself onto Sehun who just in time holds Taehyung out of the way.

"You couldn't have missed me that bad, Taeminnie. I've only been away for a few minutes."

"Still!", he says, beaming up at Sehun who leans down to press a small kiss onto his nose, causing Taemin to giggle up happily. When he looks up again Chanyeol's watching him with a smile and an unreadable expression on his face. Sehun reciprocated his smile.

"So your name is Chanyeol?", he asks.

"Yes and yours Sehun."

Sehun nods. "Thank you again for looking after him."

"No problem. I'm quite used to watching my friends´ and neighbours´ children. I'm pretty good with kids I guess. And he was really well-behaved and easy to handle."

Taemin had begun nibbling on Sehun's shirt again while they were talking so Sehun had to put Taehyung on the blanket and give him his bite ring so that he could wrap both arms around Taemin and hoist him up so that he wouldn't slide off of his lap.

"I should get back to work", Chanyeol announces. "I still have fifteen minutes left before my shift ends."

Sehun nods, smiling. They had really bothered him long enough. The other stands up to return to the counter, picking up empty mugs on the way.

As Sehun watches him walk away he can't help but notice the way Chanyeol's tight black jeans and t-shirt of the same colour hug his perfectly proportioned body.

He shakes his head vehemently, he shouldn't have these thoughts right now, with a toddler and a baby under his care. He removes Taemin from his chest and sits him down in front of him.

The small boy looks around in confusion. "Yeolie?", he asks, close to tears. Sehun didn't expect the boy to grow this attached so soon.

"Chanyeol has to work, Taeminnie. He can play with you again later, okay?"

Taemin nods in understanding. Sehun is once again amazed how Junmyeon and Minho have managed to raise him to be this cooperative and content. It's a miracle really.

"Hey, how about you draw him something? Then you can give it to him when he's done working, yeah?", he suggests nodding towards the small table littered with paper and crayons.

Taemin nods enthusiastically before sipping the last of his strawberry milk. Sehun decides to join him. He sits down cross-legged, putting Taehyung down between them. He seems happy and chewing on his teether, making small content gurgling noises. Sehun pulls a piece of paper towards himself while Taemin starts drawing on his own piece with a red crayon, creating something that roughly has the shape of humans. They draw in silence together for about twenty minutes and Taemin has just started on his third piece when they are disturbed by the sound of rattling porcelain.

Sehun looks up to see Chanyeol with two plates in his hands.

He smiles at Sehun. "My shift's over now and I thought you two would like some peanut butter brownies. For free of coruse."

"Thank you, you didn't have to", Sehun says, receiving the plate from Chanyeol.

He puts the other one next to Taemin who eyes the brownie curiously before looking at Sehun to get confirmation that he's allowed to eat it. Sehun just nods in confirmation and the small one happily begins to munch on the brownie.

Chanyeol sits down next to Sehun, much to Taehyung's pleasure, who seems fascinated by the tall human being. He pushes himself up on Sehun's leg to get a closer look at him.

"Hello", Chanyeol coos at the baby, softly and careful stroking his soft baby cheeks with his finger. Taehyung grips it in his fascination, wanting to put it in his mouth but Sehun quickly gives him his pacifier instead. He just resigns to holding Chanyeol's finger.

"What's his name?", Chanyeol asks, looking up and into Sehun's eyes. And oh boy, are his eyes beautiful. They are big and shine warmly. The dark brown iris is littered with small gold sparks. Sehun almost forgets to answer.

"T…Taehyung."

"Taemin and Taehyung. Cute."

Sehun nods. Yes he is.

They sit together for some time, Chanyeol drawing with Taemin and Sehun switching between playing with Taehyung and eating bits of the brownie. Which tastes like absolute heaven. He tells Chanyeol as much.

"Oh. Thank you", he answers, cheeks a soft pink. "I made them with my grandmother's recipe."

"You made them?"

"Yes, I actually own this place? I bake most of the stuff and sometimes help out as a waiter…"

Over the next hour Sehun learns that Chanyeol had studied business management which he dropped halfway through to become a baker and has taken over the cafe from his aunt two years ago. His favourite cake is strawberry shortcake, same as Sehun´s, his favourite colour is red, and he has a small puppy.  
Sehun also learns that Chanyeol's smile might be the prettiest in the whole world and that he was one of the cutest human beings ever, sitting there drawing with a four-year old as if it were the most normal thing in the whole world.  
They talk about Sehun's study about what it means to own a cafe and their shared love for anime and eighties hit songs and Sehun feels incredibly comfortable.

Taemin eventually gets bored with drawing and Sehun is so absorbed into his talk with Chanyeol that he doesn't realize it. By the time he does, Taemin has put one of the crayons in his mouth, apparently trying to eat it.

"Taemin, no!", Sehun scolds him, handing Taehyung to Chanyeol before reaching over the table and snatching the crayon out of Taemin's small hand.

"Honey, what did I tell you? You can't just eat anything you want. Some things are food but most things aren't."

He puts the crayon down and brushes Taemin's hair back.

"But I want to know what it tastes like!", Taemin explains, smiling all innocently.

Sehun sighs. He turns towards Chanyeol. "I'm sorry. Ever since he's little he starts chewing on whatever he gets his hands on."

Chanyeol shrugs. "It's okay, he's just a kid."

"Yeah…" If only that were the only weird things he did…

"Hey, how about we stop drawing and play with the playmobil stuff?", Chanyeol suggests.

"Yes!", Taemin cheers. "But first we have to trade our pictures! You give me one of yours and I give you one of mine, okay?"

"Okay", Chanyeol agrees. They both sort through their paintings while Sehun takes Taehyung and already goes over to the giant castle. The other two join him soon.

Sehun watches as Chanyeol plays a knight trying to defeat Taemin's dragon and he thinks how it should be weird that they are having so much fun with someone who's practically a complete stranger. Even though he feels like he's known Chanyeol for so much longer, considering how easy it is to talk to him and how good he gets along with the kids.

The thought makes him smile. Suddenly he's really glad that Junmyeon forgot to buy his presents.

They have been at the cafe for about two and a half hours when the doorbell rings and Junmyeon comes in. He's carrying so many bags that he almost doesn't manage to fit through the door.

Sehun is so absorbed in staring at Chanyeol while he makes weird faces at Taehyung that he doesn't even realize that it's his brother until Taemin drops his penguin into his lap and jumps up to greet his father.

Both him and Chanyeol look up at the sudden scream and meet eyes with an amused Junmyeon, holding his son in a hug. The two men stand up and Sehun takes Taehyung from Chanyeol who awkwardly stands back while Sehun greets his brother.

When Junmyeon meets Sehun's eyes there's a knowing glint in them, and he just knows that he has seen him staring at Chanyeol. He'll probably get teased about it for the whole way back.

"Hyung, this is Chanyeol, he owns this place", Sehun explains and Chanyeol shakes Junmyeon's hand with a shy smile.

"He is my new best friend!", Taemin gives his own explanation, hurrying to hold Chanyeol's hand as soon as Junmyeon has dropped it.

The two brothers laugh while Chanyeol blushes. "I guess I am."

"Papaaaa", Taemin asks, tugging at Junmyeon's jacket.

"What is it honey?"

"Can Yeolie come play with me sometimes?" His big round eyes shift in between the three adults hoping that one of them would eventually allow it.

Junmyeon squats down and pats Taemin's hair. "If he wants to of course he can."

"Yes!", Taemin yells victorious. He goes to hug Chanyeol's legs. The man looks up in surprise, meeting Sehun's eyes. They both can't help but smile happily.

"Then I can show you my playhouse in the garden, it's really big. My Dad has build it all by himself. We can play there, or we can play with my bunnies!", Taemin begins to count down their possibilities. "We also have ants in our garden, they are really cool, Uncle Sehun told me that they can carry really heavy stuff which is cool. Once I ate some but Papa said I'm not allowed to do that any more. Maybe you can…"

"Okay! Taeminnie, put on your jacket", Sehun stops him before he can tell even more weird things. "We're leaving now."

Taemin nods and let's go of Chanyeol to get his jacket.

"He will be normal one day, right?", Junmyeon asks with a fake cheerful smile.

"Probably", Sehun guesses.

"Yeah, it's not like he'll walk around and talk about eating ants once he's twenty-five", Chanyeol adds.

Jumyeon sighs. "I hope so."

With that he pushes the door open and bids Chanyeol a quick good bye.

Sehun shakes his hand, following his brother. "Thanks again", he says but Chanyeol waves him off.

"No problem, really. It was nice meeting you. I hope you'll come around again."

"We will!"

With that the door slams shut between them and Sehun his left with waving at Chanyeol through the glaswindow until Taemin pulls at his hand, demanding from him to start walking.

They round the corner and Sehun really starts to regret that he didn't ask Chanyeol for his phone number. It's been a long time since he had met such a cute, lovely guy which he felt himself drawn to. He lets out a sigh. Why does he have to fuck up everything? He wished for a boyfriend for so long and now that he actually found someone who might be suitable, he doesn't have the guts to do something about it.  
He beats himself up about until they reach the car, and he's just about to strap Taemin into his seat when the boy speaks up.

"Uncle Sehun, can you give me your bag?", he asks.

"Sure, buddy. Why do you need it?"

"You'll see!" Taemin takes the bag and pulls the stack of paper out he had shoved in there, back at the cafe. He sorts through them until he has found what he was looking for.  
He throws the rest of the papers on the seat between him and Taehyung and hands one paper to Sehun.

"Yeolie said I should give you this. He drew that for you. I think it's a bit boring though…it has no dragons or fire but still." He finishes his judgement with a shrug.

Sehun stares at the crayon painting in his hands. It's a picture of two people sitting at a table, one with yellow and one with black hair. There are glasses with what he assumes to be wine on the table and some kind of food. It's a bit hard to decipher since the whole drawing his made with crayons.

What he can read though are the words scribbled over the painting in orange colour.

"Go out with me sometimes?" And a phone number written underneath.

Sehun smiles, probably the biggest smile he had managed in a few weeks. It also makes Taemin curious. His nephew tilts his head, looking up at Sehun.

"Is it okay?"

"It's perfect."


End file.
